By Francesca Alonzi, Simone Ambroselli, Alberto Valery
In the first months of 2020 the international scenario was dominated by the health emergency. In Italy, containment measures adopted by the Government to limit the infection have had an initial impact on manufacturing: many large companies have added new specific products related to the COVID-19 emergency to their main activity, while some smaller enterprises have totally reconverted their activities to devote themselves to products in greater demand during the pandemic period. These conversions were also favoured by the scarcity, and in some cases the lack, of medical products and devices needed to prevent COVID-19 and medical treatment in general, which encouraged companies to focus on new businesses.
From a statistical point of view, there was therefore the need to identify, within the official classification systems, the economic activities of the manufacturing sector and the products considered relevant for the prevention of COVID-19 and medical treatment in general.